Non-stop learning key to short-yardage QB Pigrome’s success

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This article was published 06/06/2023 (1180 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tyrrell Pigrome didn’t make the Winnipeg Blue Bombers just because of his athleticism.

He put in the work, too.

“I study while I’m here, I study while I’m home,” said the rookie quarterback on Tuesday.

“Like one time, I had a receiver (Manasseh Bailey, who was one of 25 players released Saturday) say he saw me through my dorm window standing there going through my reads. He was laughing, but I was like, ‘Hey, I’m trying to get these plays down. I’m trying to learn.’ At the end of the day, I feel it helped me out, but I still got a lot of learning left to do.”

It certainly didn’t hurt, as Pigrome made a name for himself in the preseason with two impressive performances. It was a two-horse race for the third-string and short-yardage quarterback job between Pigrome and fellow rookie Josh Jones, but Pigrome closed the debate in the exhibition opener in Edmonton when he ran for a pair of touchdowns and showed some promise with his arm.

The 25-year-old from Maryland proved it was no fluke last Friday when he led the Bombers to the end zone on both of his drives.

Pigrome missed the first few days of training camp to fly home to be with his partner Nayda who had just given birth to the couple’s first child, a baby girl named Lavani.

“To be here, it’s a blessing. I had to make sacrifices, I missed seeing my daughter born to be here,” said Pigrome, who played college football at Maryland, Western Kentucky, and Ole Miss before wrapping up his NCAA career at Towson.

“I felt if I didn’t make the team, I’d be failing her and failing myself, so making the team is a big accomplishment. But obviously I got to keep growing as a person, as a player, and try to learn as much as I can from these guys.”

You can expect to see Pigrome step on the field in Friday’s regular season opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when the Bombers are faced with a third and short. Although he’s firmly behind Zach Collaros and Dru Brown, Pigrome’s unique skillset might have offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce thinking of more ways to get his new pivot on the field.

“He’s a guy that we definitely see as a weapon,” said Pierce.

“I remember myself as a young quarterback, still developing as a passer, still trying to figure out what I’m looking at in the pass game, but if you have that ability to put the ball away and go make some yards with your legs, it’s a great weapon. I think with a skillset like that, now it’s up to us and him to kind of bring him along and find out more.”

Pierce isn’t ready to make a Chris Streveler comparison just yet, though.

“That’s a long ways away still… That comparison right now, we all know what Chris did, they’re different players,” said Pierce.

“We’re still in the phase of figuring some things out, but I’m extremely happy with his performance, what he’s done, the growth he’s shown throughout camp. He’s willing to work, he’s coachable, and those are all good ingredients for a quarterback. Now at the pro level, you have to do it every day.”

As for his goal for Year 1, Pigrome isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“Learn. After that, whatever comes with it. But I’m just trying to learn and be here for whatever the team needs me to do. I don’t know if that’s playing or not playing. If they want me to be a cheer person, I’ll be a cheer person. If they want me to be a hype man, I’ll be a hype man. But other than that, I just want to learn.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

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